Vernon Davis >>> Your TE

[adembroski]

hearing someone say VD is the teams greatest blocker, I immediately knew the homer goggles were on.

I'm a 49er fan, and even I can see that VD has been average at blocking.

Singletary is just tooting his horn because of their relationship.

No, that quote came from last year after the Jets game, when Davis was still firmly in the dog house.

The other quote... about Davis being the team's best blocker... I removed it because I can't find the original source. It would have also come last year, when Norris was gone. So Staley would have been the only real competition.

 

[adembroski]

For the record, that site says Justin Smith is the best 3-4 DE in the league... by a pretty wide margin.

 

[trojan49er]

Davis is a solid blocker, I mean hell, people were giving Niner fans shit about essentially drafting a blocking tight end in the first round for the past three years. I definitely wouldnt go so far as to say he's the best blocker on the team or the best blocking tight end in the league, but he is far from horrid. Like adem said, his biggest problem is staying high in his blocks and not getting the drive he could with better technique. That being said, I'd rather run behind him than whoever we signed off the street to play RT. Not to mention, he is almost hands down, the most explosive tight end in the league. His size, speed, and athleticism give him an edge over most anyone assigned to cover him

 

[Hasselbeck]

There was awhile where Vernon looked like a bust but it looks like it all finally came together for him this year. Definitely a tough player to defend.

 

[Tailback U]

Davis is a solid blocker but he's not the best blocking TE in the league. As a package, though, he is definitely a top tier TE now. And by top tier I mean top 3.

As much as I love Tony G, he has definitely slowed down this year. He's lost a step and a half and you can see it in his routes and his acceleration off the line of scrimmage - he still has the hands, size, and strength, but his speed/agility/quickness is almost sad to watch now.

The funny thing about Davis, though, is that he still has a lot to work on. His route running is average, at best, as most of you 49ers fans will know that most of his stats came from go-routes this year down the seam.

He also had quite a few drops this year, so he needs to improve his hands as well.

I also don't think he is as physical as he can be yet, as he seemed to shy away or dropped some tough catches over the middle. Then again, he also made some great catches while taking licks so he has the ability, just needs to become more consistent in that area.

 

[hoodyallen]

Davis is a solid blocker but he's not the best blocking TE in the league. As a package, though, he is definitely a top tier TE now. And by top tier I mean top 3.

As much as I love Tony G, he has definitely slowed down this year. He's lost a step and a half and you can see it in his routes and his acceleration off the line of scrimmage - he still has the hands, size, and strength, but his speed/agility/quickness is almost sad to watch now.

The funny thing about Davis, though, is that he still has a lot to work on. His route running is average, at best, as most of you 49ers fans will know that most of his stats came from go-routes this year down the seam.

He also had quite a few drops this year, so he needs to improve his hands as well.

I also don't think he is as physical as he can be yet, as he seemed to shy away or dropped some tough catches over the middle. Then again, he also made some great catches while taking licks so he has the ability, just needs to become more consistent in that area.

I definitely agree. He's definitely not anything special blocking wise, and Witten and Gates are simply more complete TE's. I put Vernon Davis in number 3 spot, just ahead of Tony G.

 

[Rayman]

:jonesy:

 

[Aso]

Lolno.

Vernon Davis is still a horrid blocker. It's Gates, then Witten then Davis.

Horrible blocker? I heard he was an amazing blocker.

Sry, I'm a bit late.

 

[Realist]

Davis was probowl alternate last year mainly because of his blocking. take into account Martz was his OC and he only had 31 catches 358 and 2 TD's. He didn't get picked for his 4.3 speed thats for sure.

With that said, being a 49ers fan, I disagree with the OP. Yes Davis finally has proved his worth but he dropped way too many balls at important moments in the game and he still can't make the difficult catches thata Gates, Witten or Tony G can make. He need to improve on this year. The sky is the limit for him

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Vernon Davis: The Sixth Lineman

This article on the bleacher report says pretty much everything discussed here, no use really reading it other than the article just points to the common knowledge that the bright spot on Davis' career has been his blocking skills, until this mammoth stat hog of a season he had in '09.

I remember this video from his rookie season

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGS7EMnIAh4"]YouTube- V. Davis vs B. Moore Niner Training Camp 2007[/ame]

Also nothing much to see I guess, it's Davis in his rookie season in training camp, but I think it shows his desire to block early on.

The quote people are looking for, I found here.

"I don't know if there's ever been a tight end that can block better than Vernon Davis," the Hall of Fame linebacker said Monday after his 49ers' (5-8) third win in four games, 24-14 over the Jets.

"For him to be on a defensive end, linebacker -- I don't care who it was -- he was on him, he was driving him, he was moving him, and it wasn't like they didn't know he was coming," Singletary added. "It was very impressive."

I've seen a lot of niner games, unfortunately, I live in Sacramento also...Davis can block. He's good at it, and he really wants to be a good blocker so he's worked hard at it. That and the dude is a strong as an ox. He's a very capable blocker. This comes from a Steeler fan, I got nothing to gain from Davis being considered good at anything.

 

[elbingz]

Lolno.

Vernon Davis is still a horrid blocker. It's Gates, then Witten then Davis.

You are a fool. Vernon Davis is hands down the best blocking TE in the league.

 

[elbingz]

Davis was probowl alternate last year mainly because of his blocking. take into account Martz was his OC and he only had 31 catches 358 and 2 TD's. He didn't get picked for his 4.3 speed thats for sure.

With that said, being a 49ers fan, I disagree with the OP. Yes Davis finally has proved his worth but he dropped way too many balls at important moments in the game and he still can't make the difficult catches thata Gates, Witten or Tony G can make. He need to improve on this year. The sky is the limit for him

Yeah...I'm with you. He dropped a bunch of catchable passes, but showed a lot of improvement in his ability to track a ball in the air(Titans game).

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Yeah...I'm with you. He dropped a bunch of catchable passes, but showed a lot of improvement in his ability to track a ball in the air(Titans game).

I've said this so much to my niner friends I almost feel like a broken record. I think I've posted it a few times on here as well. I've noticed in the past that balls would bounce off of his hands like dodge balls in 6th grade gym class. Not as much this year, simple drops and such. It's crazy to say this even though he still drops a lot of balls, he's using his hands a little better, and his drops don't look as bad. At least the football isn't ping'ing off of his hands like they used to. That said he has a lot of work to do with his route running, I think some of that is the OC finding new ways to use a freak like him in combination with Vernon learning how to get open in other ways besides seams and go routes. If Vernon picks up some big man route running ability and softens up his hands a little more we could see the best overall TE ever, but that's a BIG if, and a long way out from now. So I'll go on record as saying he's the best TE for 2009, and if he can prove some consistency over the next 3-4 years (yes I said 3-4 years because I'm not one to give up a title for a 1-2 year stint) I'll start touting him as the top TE.